Vancouver Whitecaps appoint former Wolves man Carl Robinson as head coach
MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps today appointed former Wolves midfielder Carl Robinson, 37, as their new coach.
The 37-year-old ex-midfielder, who made 191 appearances for Wolves from 1993-2002, succeeds Martin Rennie, who was relieved of his duties after failing to quality for the 2013 play-offs.
Robinson was Rennie's assistant after retiring as a player in January 2012.
"It's a dream come true," said Robinson, who was known as 'Carlo' in his time at Wolves.
"It's something I've always wanted to do and the ownership have been great putting their faith in me.
"It brought a tear to my eye when I was told I was the next head coach because my dad would have been very proud if he was still alive and it's a special day for me."
He began his playing career in 1993, playing for Wolves, Portsmouth, Walsall (loan), Sunderland and Norwich before switching across the Atlantic to join Toronto FC in 2007 then New York Red Bulls in the MLS in 2010 for two years.
Robinson's first taste of senior football came under former Wolves keeper Fred Davies on loan at Shrewsbury in 1996 when he helped them to the Auto Windscreens Trophy final at Wembley.
He went on to make his Wolves debut under Mark McGhee in April 1997 and also played under Colin Lee and Dave Jones before joining Portsmouth on a Bosman in 2002.
A Wales international who won 52 caps, Robinson won promotion to the Premier League with title-winning Portsmouth under Harry Redknapp and Jim Smith in 2003 – the year Wolves went up through the play-offs – before also winning a second Championship title winner's medal in 2004-05 with Sunderland under Mick McCarthy.
Watch Robinson score an incredible volley below from back in the 1997/98 season as Wolves beat Bradford 2-1.
Video courtesy of Vancouver Whitecaps on YouTube.
